Hello to April and Hello to a New Cookbook Club Selection

It’s time to say hello to April and the latest cookbook from Donna Hay – and do read on to find out what’s in store for May!

Well, suddenly it’s hello to April, and it’s hello from and my parched Adelaide Hills farm where it has rained exactly once (9mm) in the last 4 months.

We are giving ourselves a bit of a kitchen break in April in the Lambs’ Ears Cookbook Club, and will be cooking from Too Easy, the latest cookbook from Donna Hay. Donna’s food is always popular, and her dual focus on big flavours in the shortest possible time resonates with most of us at some stage or another.

The recipes in this latest publication offer simple shortcuts to transform pantry staples into delicious dinners within minutes. She kicks off with a few pages listing pantry staples (most of which, I’ll bet you already have), then goes on to show you how to use them. We’ll be saying hello to April with chapters headed “Faster Than Takeaway”, “Flavour Starters”, “Set and Forget”, along with sections on speedy desserts and fast snacks. There’s some cracker tray-bakes – I’m looking at you “Coconut Curry Chicken Tray Bake”, and a whole chapter on cooking with your air fryer (it never even occurred to me that you could char-cook cabbage in an air fryer!).

But hang on – what did we cook in March?

Seriously, March was delicious. It turns out I’m not the only one with a sweet tooth and Claire Saffitz has gained quite a few new fans after we explored What’s For Dessert. Here’s a few – you’ll find more mouthwatering photos on our Facebook group.

Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake from Carolyn Miles

Karyn Hearn’s Peach, Bourbon and Pecan Cake

All in Shortbread from Gigi Annabelle

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie – baked by me

And what’s coming up in May?

I’m shifting out of my comfort zone for May, with Everything is Indian by Justin Narayan. I’m a wee bit chilli-phobic, so avoid overly spicy food which means that Indian food has been mostly off my radar. However, Justin’s new cookbook takes the flavours of this cuisine, and some of his treasured Fijian-Indian family recipes, and throws the rules away.

Think slow roast lamb curry with mint rice, chicken curry tacos or masala sweet potato tacos, and lamb curry sausage rolls. With 90 familiar, easy and exciting recipes he invites us to enjoy the flavours of his culinary heritage and connect with his culture in a fresh new accessible way – and I’m totally here for it!

But first, we say hello to April and to Donna Hay’s Too Easy – I can’t wait to see what comes out of the cookbook club members kitchens!

If you haven’t joined the Lambs Ears Cookbook Club yet, you will find all the details here.

SO, 2025 IS LOOKING LIKE THIS SO FAR

Your whole-year cookbook will be any ONE cookbook from your own collection

May – Everything Is Indian by Justin Narayan
April – Too Easy by Donna Hay
March – What’s for Dessert by Claire Saffitz
February – RecipeTin Eats Tonight by Nagi Maehashi
January – Salad for Days by Alice Zaslavsky